This invention relates to a security assembly notably for electrosensitive protection equipment, comprising
two micro-controllers separately receiving specific and synchronous information (input states) in order to process it and supply respective outputs the two micro-controllers being connected through links to make the running of the programs processing the two states of input into the micro-controllers consistent,
a comparator receiving the outputs from the micro-controllers in order to transmit a signal in the event of nonconformity.
Such security assemblies are notably fitted to dangerous machines. They receive information from sensors and process the received signals in order to validate the operation of the installation, to stop it or to prohibit it.
According to the security category into which these security assemblies are classified, the regulations are more or less strict and in the most strict category, any operational incident must be treated as the detection of a person penetrating the area of the machine that is being protected.
For this, known security assemblies such as those mentioned above, have a redundant structure. The pieces of information are processed along two paths in a synchronous manner, and the two paths exchange operating information. Then the outputs are compared in order to verify consistency.
In order to modify the operation of the security assembly, it is necessary to inject a new parameterization onto each of the channels fitted to a micro-processor. This introduction is relatively long and tedious since it is carried out, for example, with the help of switches which limits the possibilities in addition to causing the inconvenience mentioned above.
The purpose of this invention is to remedy these disadvantages and to aim to create a security assembly of the type specified above, that allows one to modify the parameterization of the security assembly in order to adapt it easily to new configurations and to make the assembly applicable to numerous situations indeed to make it polyvalent.
To this effect, the invention relates to such a security assembly, characterized in that it comprises
a re-writable memory linked respectively to each micro-controller
an interface common to the two micro-controllers, connected to them through a common micro-controller in order to enter the parameterization data of the functions of the two micro-controllers by means of the common micro-controller.
The invention thereby allows one to modify the operation of the security assembly in an simple way by the one-time introduction of the parameterization data through the use of the interface. These data are communicated through the micro-processor common to the microprocessors linked to each of the two channels which enter these configuration data into their respective re-writable memories. During this up-date or this operational modification to the security assembly, outputs are prohibited and the assembly functions on reception of parameterization messages.
The bilateral writing with exchange permits assured entry of the message which is doubly written and recognized. Each message is made up of a cyclic redundancy code that permits verification and in the event of nonconformity, the rejection of the code.
At the end of this parameterization the security assembly is once again available to provide the security function by processing the input states and the synchronism of the processing by the direct exchange of data between the two microprocessors for the two parallel processing channels.
In accordance with other advantageous characteristics
a re-writable memory is respectively linked to each micro-controller
an interface common to the two micro-controllers is connected to them through a common micro-controller to enter the parameterization data of the functions of the two micro-controllers by means of the common micro-controller.